Judge Marshalls Field of Dreams 04-13-2008

NICKI BRUCE LOGAN

Published 7:00 pm, Saturday, April 12, 2008

Herald Lifestyles Editor

Faded and rusty, the bodies of old cars  interspersed with engines and transmissions  are lined up in a pasture on the Marvin Marshall Sr. farm, waiting for the auctioneers and tire kickers to arrive Saturday for Judge Marvin Marshall's Estate Auction.

The pasture reflects a West Texas Field of Dreams where, instead of a lush baseball diamond in a field of corn, the dream cars of Marshall's childhood and beyond sit at attention in a dirt field scattered with tumble weeds and dry tufts of buffalo grass.

Marshall, who died Jan. 9, 2007, at the age of 60, was a lifelong collector, one who having grown up on a farm in an area where used vehicles were driven to a pasture and abandoned saw the possibilities in rusted and neglected vehicles. Mostly he collected cars, and he had plenty for Five Star Auctioneers to sell, but his collection also included a 1950s Schwinn Black Phantom bicycle, which has been hanging from the rafters in a barn for the past 50-plus years, and his first motorcycle, a 1958 Cushman Eagle Motor Scooter. He also collected guns, some of which will be in the auction.

The showman of the auction is an "unmolested" 1941 Plymouth "Woodie" station wagon. Vehicle bodies range from the very old Ford Model A to the classic 1956 Chevrolet Nomad to the 1973 Buick Rivera. Also included are panel trucks from the 1950s, pickups and motors and engines.

According to Marshall's wife, Carolyn, Five Star Auctioneers, which is handling the sale, has many of the items that will be for sale listed on a website, http://www.marshallsale.com/index.htm.

"Marvin always liked to tinker with cars when we were growing up," says his sister, Glenda Mahagan of Claytonville. "He really got interested when he got his first car, a 409 Chevrolet."

Marshall grew up on the family farm southeast of Plainview, graduated from Plainview High School in 1964 and received a bachelor's degree in political science in 1969 from Texas Tech. In 1971, he graduated with honors from the second class at Texas Tech School of Law and later was honored as a distinguished alumnus of the Texas Tech Law School.

He retired as judge of the 242nd District Court in 1997, and was a visiting judge, sitting in courts throughout Texas, especially in the Lubbock and Dallas areas.

"He always intended to do something with his cars when he retired," Mahagan explains. "Then, with his health, he wasn't able to do that."

"It's going to be hard to see the cars sold and scattered," says Carolyn Marshall. "The cars were an important part of our marriage from the first day. Marvin didn't like to fly, so we took a lot of road trips . . . I ususally drove and Marvin looked. He always was searching for old cars. Years later, if we were going through a part of the country where he had seen one, he remembered exactly where it was. He'd say 'I wonder if that is still there.'

"He had an amazing memory."

Judge Marshall was a 27-year survivor of Hodgkin lymphoma and a 10-year survivor of a heart attack.

"When he was in the hospital that last time, he talked with friends about what he was going to do with a certain car or motor when he got home," Marshall says. "Up until the end, he and his friends talked about cars and hunting."

Mahagan says her father, who still lives on the farm where the auction will be held, has had calls from collectors from all over the United States.

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"He has enjoyed talking to the callers. He mentioned people calling from New York and several from Oklahoma. Marvin had a lot of motors and engine parts. They are hard to find now, people who restore the cars are interested in the parts."